Buyers to note: Work in Turkey? Possible!

Have you planned to move to Turkey for permanent residence and even chose the apartment of your dreams?
Surely you have thought about the possibilities of employment, self-realization, the opening of your business or the development of new specialties?
In this article we will try to highlight as much as possible the issues concerning the legal employment of foreigners in Turkey.

FRILANS

The most common and rapidly developing way of earning today is remote work or freelancing. Freelancers are not tied to the place of work, so they can freely change cities and countries. Among those who are moving to Turkey for permanent residence are a lot of freelancers who already have a stable income from work via the Internet and do not worry about earnings. These are copywriters, translators, IT specialists, lawyers, designers, illustrators, bloggers and others. The income of foreigners-freelancers in Turkey is not subject to any tax. That is, to receive payment for your work, you can easily open an account with a Turkish bank that will not be interested in the tax service. Turkey attracts freelancers by the simple procedure of obtaining a long-term residence permitand, in the future, even the possibility of obtaining Turkish citizenship. A striking feature of any freelancer is his passion for travel and change of places. From Turkey to travel anywhere in the world is easy enough, the airports not only of Istanbul, but also Antalya have a very wide route network throughout the year. And the comfortable climate and the developed infrastructure of cities on the Mediterranean coast allow you to work not only at home, but also in cafes, restaurants, parks and even on the beach.

DIPLOMA CONFIRMATION / LEGALIZATION

If you want to continue working in Turkey in your specialty, then you need to go through the procedure of confirmation or legalization of your diploma. To confirm or legalize in Turkey any diploma is considered possible, but the degree of complexity and duration of this procedure depends on the specialty. If the disciplines and the number of hours that you have been listening to during your studies at the university meet the Turkish standards, then only confirmation will be enough. For certain specialties it will be necessary to pass the legalization of the diploma. For this purpose, foreigners study at additional courses and pass a qualification exam - Seviye Tespit Sınavı.
Before you begin the procedure for confirmation or legalization, it is necessary to clarify whether your university has accreditation in Turkey. The request for this should be sent to the Committee on Higher Education - YÖK, which is located in Ankara. If your university is accredited, then you can easily prepare the necessary documents and transport or mail it again to YÖK.
Documents required for confirmation / legalization of the diploma:
- statements: on the official website of YÖK there are forms of applications that must be filled online, printed out, put your signature and attach to the package of documents
- Your passport: a photocopy and a notarized translation into Turkish
- Certificate of the termination of the school confirmed in the Ministry of Education of Turkey (school certificates are confirmed in the department of the Ministry of Education of local level, that is directly in the city where you live)
- Your diploma: a photocopy and a notarized translation of the diploma into Turkish, as well as a notarized translation into Turkish of the diploma insert with a list of all the disciplines covered, the number of hours for each discipline and the marks
- Your thesis: its photocopy, the original in electronic form, as well as a notarized translation into Turkish.
In addition to this list, it is necessary to provide at least one of the following documents for the argumentation of the need to confirm the diploma:
- application for work in the relevant organization or the Ministry of Labor
- a document confirming the application for obtaining Turkish citizenship (if you are in the process of obtaining Turkish citizenship)
- for teachers - an employment contract from an educational institution in which you are going to conduct teaching activities
The current full list of all the necessary documents can always be found on the official website of YÖK at http://yok.gov.tr/web/denklikbirimi/yu-yuksek-lisans
The procedure for confirming or legalizing a diploma can take quite a long time. If you plan to live and work in Turkey, then this time can and should be spent on in-depth study of the Turkish language.

PERMISSION FOR WORK

Another fairly common type of employment for foreign nationals in Turkey is obtaining a work permit (work permit). Very often a work permit is confused with a work visa. Working visa is issued at home if you do not have a residence permit. If you are already in Turkey and live here on the basis of residence permit, you only need to find an employer who will take you to work and will issue you a work permit in the Ministry of Labor of Turkey.
Conditions that must be observed when obtaining a work permit for a foreigner in Turkey:
- presence in the company of the employer of at least 5 employees - Turkish citizens per one foreign employee. In the tourist and entertainment industry (for example, hotels) the ratio is set as 10 to 1.
- You have a diploma or other document confirming the qualification of a foreign employee. The document must be translated into Turkish and notarized.
- you have a valid long-term residence permit (for 1 or 2 years)
The registration of all documents is handled by the employer. The whole procedure lasts no more than 30 days. The first time a work permit is issued for 1 year with the right of further extension.
To search for an employer, we recommend choosing the area in which you would like to find a job, compiling a good resume and mastering all Turkish Internet sites for employment. For employment in the tourism industry, a compulsory condition is the possession of foreign languages ​​(English, German, etc.). The big plus in finding a job is, of course, the presence of at least an initial conversational level of the Turkish language.
The number of issued work permits for foreigners in Turkey has been growing rapidly from year to year. So, for example, if in 2011 only 17 467 permits were issued according to statistics, then in 2016 the total amount was already 73 584.

YOUR OWN BUSINESS

And, at last, the most part of the foreigners moving to Turkey, dreams of opening own business. So, only in Antalya in 2017 with the involvement of foreign capital, more than 3,000 new firms were opened. Your business in Turkey can be a beauty salon, a cafe or restaurant, a children's club or courses for children and adults, a store or boutique, and larger businesses. You can start your business here even with a minimum starting capital. In 2003, Turkey adopted a law on foreign direct investment (Law on Foreign Direct Investment No. 4875). The law granted foreigners the same rights and benefits as local investors, and gave them the right to open all types of companies permitted by the Turkish Trade Code: Joint Stock Companies, Limited Liability Companies, Individual Entrepreneurship. In addition, the new law has saved foreign investors from many bureaucratic procedures that took place before, and greatly simplified the conduct of business by foreigners in Turkey. And for LLC and JSC, the amount of fixed capital was significantly reduced (up to 10,000 liras for LLCs and up to 50,000 liras for joint-stock companies).
The legal registration of a company organized by foreigners in Turkey is absolutely identical to the registration of the company by Turkish citizens. The only difference is that the foreigner's documents must be translated into Turkish and notarized.
In order to register a company in the Commercial and Industrial Company, the following should be identified and prepared:
- name - it must be unique in Turkish (that is, not previously registered by another person)
- address - room or apartment can be both in your property and leased. When renting it is necessary to negotiate with the owner, as well as consult a lawyer about the possibility of doing your business in this room.
- Notarized document on the composition of the founders of the company and distribution of shares
- notarially certified passports of the founder of the company and co-founders, if available, all passports must be valid at the time of registration
- availability of residence permit from the founders of the company
- tax number should be obtained by foreigners from the tax service of all founders
- Notarially certified foundation agreement and company charter
- an open account with a Turkish bank
A list of all necessary documents can always be found on the official website of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Information on the company's registration is published in the Official Gazette (Resmi Gazetesi) of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. From the date of registration in the Chamber of Commerce, the company becomes a legal entity.
Despite the seeming simplicity, we recommend that you consult lawyers beforehand, study legislation and tax issues, and find a reliable accountant.

Villa Antalya always stands to protect the interests of its customers.
We are ready to provide you with consultations of competent specialists in any of the above areas and help with the preparation of the necessary documents.